Closing Statement on the Project
Discontinuation of the project with immediate effect as of 23 February 2026
With appreciation for what has been built together, we share difficult news today.
Against the backdrop of current political developments, multiple global crises and their impact on our work, the Executive Board of the Goethe-Institut has decided to discontinue the Goethe-Institut in Exile programme with immediate effect. The acute pressure on our structures, including limited financial resources no longer allowus to continue the programme.
Despite this measure, supporting exiled artists in Germany and worldwide remains an important part of our work. The Goethe-Institut will continue to make their voices heard, closely link them to our international cultural programming and bring their perspectives into the German discourse.
The Goethe-Institutin Exile programme has been a place of arrival and continuation - a meeting point, a space for discourse, and a stage for artists at risk from countries where institutes had to close due to war and censorship. It created visibility for stories of flight and border experiences, for new beginnings, and for the artistic diversity of diasporic communities.
We remain connected through the networks it has formed and the dialogue it has set in motion.
Berlin, 23.02.2026
With appreciation for what has been built together, we share difficult news today.
Against the backdrop of current political developments, multiple global crises and their impact on our work, the Executive Board of the Goethe-Institut has decided to discontinue the Goethe-Institut in Exile programme with immediate effect. The acute pressure on our structures, including limited financial resources no longer allowus to continue the programme.
Despite this measure, supporting exiled artists in Germany and worldwide remains an important part of our work. The Goethe-Institut will continue to make their voices heard, closely link them to our international cultural programming and bring their perspectives into the German discourse.
The Goethe-Institutin Exile programme has been a place of arrival and continuation - a meeting point, a space for discourse, and a stage for artists at risk from countries where institutes had to close due to war and censorship. It created visibility for stories of flight and border experiences, for new beginnings, and for the artistic diversity of diasporic communities.
We remain connected through the networks it has formed and the dialogue it has set in motion.
Berlin, 23.02.2026
